Game Notes:  NCCU at ECU (PDF)

DURHAM, N.C. – Entering the holiday weekend winners of nine straight, the North Carolina Central University baseball program preps for a huge home-and-home, two-game series against one of the top programs in the region, East Carolina University.  The first tilt takes place on Friday, March 29 at 6:00 p.m. at Clark-LeClair Stadium, while the finale will commence on Saturday, March 30 at 3:00 p.m. at the Durham Athletic Park.
 
These two programs met on March 26-28 in a three-game set during the 2010 season with the Pirates dominating from beginning to end (30-4, 15-2, and 20-1), but both squads seem to be headed in opposite directions with the Eagles 18-9 having already equaled last season’s regular season win total, while ECU is 3-9 since March 12, including a three-game sweep at the hands of the Houston Cougars to begin Conference USA play.  ECU leads the all-time series 3-0.
 
NCCU (18-9, 8-4 MEAC) is coming off a doubleheader sweep over Longwood on Tuesday night and are led by senior Luis Diaz (Geneva, N.Y.) at-the-plate batting .354.  Diaz is tied with junior Carter Williamson (Roanoke, Va.) with seven doubles on the year.  Williamson has been on a rampage since conference play began as he’s batting an astounding .452 with five doubles and 10 RBI in MEAC action.
 
ECU (12-14, 0-3 C-USA) is coming off an 11-4 win over in-state foe Elon looking to gather some momentum this weekend as the schedule gets even tougher for the Pirates.  Following the two-game set with the maroon and gray, ECU battles NC State on Tuesday, April 2, then welcomes the No. 20 Owls of Rice University to Greenville for a crucial weekend series. 
 
Offensively, the Pirates are led by junior infielder Jack Reinheimer who is hitting .320 on the year with a home run and 10 RBI, but first baseman/designated hitter Chase McDonald is having a productive junior season with a team-high four home runs and 19 RBI in 81 at-bats.  ECU as a team is hitting .278 which is second-best in Conference USA, but the team ERA is a league-worst 5.12.
 
NCCU head coach Jim Koerner will keep to his typical weekend series rotation with lefty Michael Romano (Spotsylvania, Va.) to the hill for Friday’s matchup.  Romano (2-3, 5.00 ERA) has worked 45.0 innings in his senior season with 19 strikeouts and only four walks.  He will be opposed by ECU’s right handed sophomore Jeff Hoffman (2-3, 4.54 ERA).  Hoffman worked 4.1 innings in his last appearance against Houston where he surrendered 11 hits and six earned runs in taking the loss for the Pirates.  On the year, Hoffman has 28 strikeouts and 16 walks in 37.2 innings of work. 
 
Game two of the series will switch venues to the DAP and see senior righty Glenn Frye (Lillington, N.C.) take the hill for start No. 39 for the senior, the most in the modern era of the program.  Frye (3-1, 3.38 ERA) is currently No. 2 in the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio with 30 K’s and only two walks.  ECU head coach Billy Goodwin will send right handed redshirt freshman David Lucroy to the mound for his sixth start of the year.  Lucroy (3-1, 1.89 ERA) has logged 33.1 innings with an impressive 39 strikeouts and 15 walks to his credit.  Opposing hitters are batting .167 against him.
 
The NCCU Sports Network will be on the air with the Champps Pregame Show beginning at 5:45 p.m. on Friday night and 2:45 p.m. for the Saturday finale as play-by-play voice Chris Hooks will count listeners down to first pitch.  Fans can interact with Hooks by following @NCCUAthletics on twitter, by using the hashtag #NCCUBaseball, and by sending him an e-mail at whooks@NCCU.edu.
 
For more information about NCCU athletics, visit www.NCCUEaglePride.com or download the NCCU Sports Network app available in the App Store, Google Play and Amazon.